The Practical Girl’s Guide to College Classes

The Practical Girl’s Guide to College Classes

College is pretty fun, it’s kinda crazy sometimes, and it’s a whole lotta work. It can be overwhelming to walk into a giant lecture hall when previously, high school classes were the last school experience for most of us, which look and function differently than college classes. When preparing for class, whether it’s your first year in college or your third, remember to take it all in stride and don’t over think it.

Don’t sweat it if you don’t look A+ every day

First of all, you will quickly learn after a few weeks of class that no-one comes to class looking perfect every day. Personally, I am really bad at taking the time to wake up earlier than I have to ‘just’ to look super cute for class. That is a personal laziness though, if preferring to not look like a hobo is something that sounds better to you, then go for it! All I’m saying is that if you really need the sleep one day, do not sweat it if you roll into class not looking your best because just about everybody else is in the same boat as you.

Bring snacks and lunch

If you have a jam packed class schedule, or even if you don’t, bring snacks and lunch! Honestly, sometimes when I’m so bored that I’m about to fall asleep in class, I will pull out a healthy snack to munch on simply so I don’t doze off. Bringing my own snacks as well as my usual meal of a sandwich or salad, saves me a lot of time and money I would be wasting if I was trying to buy food on campus every day. Plus, being able to eat on the go in my car while I am driving back and forth from work to class is also sooo convenient.

Write down assignments immediately after hearing them

In college, you have due dates thrown at you every day it seems like. If you don’t write down due dates right when you hear them, there is a good chance you will forget or remember wrong later. Professors in college have definitely been nice in my experience, however they are not super on my back like some teachers are in high school. I have had professors mention one assignment, one time and that was all they said about it, and every time they did that, they still expected that I heard them and turned the assignment in on time.

Participate as much as you can

This one is something I learned after I started college. I always heard that you need to sit in the front and ask questions, but it wasn’t until I made a point to always speak up that I realized how helpful it was. Although sitting in the very front isn’t as important to me, sitting in the far back is a bad idea because participating is almost impossible. Participating not only helps to understand the lecture material better, it gets professors more familiar with you and it flatters them. Professors want to feel important and heard, just like you. And when you give them the opportunity to feel needed, as silly as it seems, they will like you a whole lot more. When it comes time for you asking a favor from your professors in the future, whether it’s a deadline extension, homework after an absence, or raising a grade by a few points, if you have spent the semester flattering them by being the only student paying attention in their class, you are a lot more likely to get the favor you need from them. Don’t mistake this for kissing your professors ass, most professors will really dislike you if they feel like you’re trying to manipulate them for a grade.

Prepare as much as possible the night before

One of the best things I ever started doing in college was take the time to pack my lunch and set out my clothes/breakfast every night before class. It is an insanely huge time saver to just wake up and put on clothes without having to think, grab a pre-made breakfast (like overnight oats), along with my lunch/snacks and just run out the door. This way I can wake up and not have to use my brain for more than brushing my teeth and finding my keys.